This is how we take over the world
one day at a time.
This is how we take over the world.

Now What?

DONE AND DONE!  

I have never been more happy and excited to finish something in my life!  Student teaching wasn’t as bad as it could have been (and I know from experience it can be really bad), but I have never worked so hard with out getting paid.  Not only did I not get paid, but I had to pay to do it.  Wow I’m glad its over!  I have one more class that will be finished January 30th and then I can apply for my teaching credential! I could be a teacher, in my own classroom, CRAZY.  Too bad most districts are having hiring freezes, or worse laying-off a bunch of teachers.  I’ve applied to be a sub, and to teach at charters schools, but I'm still waiting for a response.  In the mean time I have NO IDEA what to do with myself.  Mind you today is my first day off, and it’s a holiday so I wouldn’t be working any way… 

I went down to a Buddhist   Temple last week and took an employment test to work as a census taker.  I’ll hear back from them the end of next month, but that is only a few months of work.  Then what?  Anyone out there have connections at an elementary school that is actually hiring?  

In other news it's my birthday on Friday and I have decided I really do not want to be 25!  So go ahead and get me stuff, you may even make me a cake, but lets just say I'm turning 24 again. K? Thanks! 

Go Read A Book!

Let me tell you all about this book I read for an amazing book club I am in.  My friend brought it to me at 6:30 on a Tuesday night.  At about 7pm I turned off the TV and began reading.  I knew I couldn’t stay up that late because I had to be at school early the next day.  I thought I would read until about 10 and then call it a night… Well at around 3:00 am Aaron finally made me go to bed. I’m pretty sure I would have stayed up until 5 am and finished it if it wasn’t for Aaron.  I brought the book to school with me the next day and read it at every opportunity.  By 1:00 in the afternoon I was done.  This wonderful, life-consuming book is THE HUNGER GAMES. 




I knew there was another book in the series, but I decided to be responsible and wait until Friday after school to pick up a copy… That lasted until Aaron got home from work Tuesday night and I made him download a PDF of CATCHING FIRE. 



I took my time with that one.  I was in bed by midnight even.  In the morning I emailed myself the PDF and read it off my iPhone every chance I got all day Thursday.  When I got home from school I read and by 7:30 I was done. 

So If you are looking for a good book to read I would strongly recommend this one! Really, you should read it.  It's so good!

Disclaimers: 

*The third book does not come out until September 24th 2010, if you start reading now, be prepared to wait.

**Begin reading at your own risk.  I am not responsible for neglected husbands, children or home cleanliness.


Christmas Time


I love Christmas time, but I am a firm believer that it does not begin until December! I refuse to decorate, or even listen to Christmas music until December 1st. Despite my firm stance I found myself preparing for Christmas in September... Oh well.

My sister-in-law Courtney is very crafty and is always making cute stuff.  She invited me over to make a Halloween countdown thing, which turned into making a Halloween count down and a Christmas countdown... This is what I created.



I was then somehow convinced it would be easy to make Stockings for Aaron and I.  I cut out the material and did some of the sewing, but if it wasn't for Courtney they would not resemble stockings AT ALL!





I also made a really cute tree skirt, but seeing as how I do not have a Christmas Tree this year its already packed away.


When Courtney and I were shopping for fabric I found some that I had to have, even though I didn't know what to do with it at the time.  Courtney suggested I make to pajama pants... so I did.  Here is the fabric...



and here I am rocking my HUGE home made pants.



I love them!  And I'm sure I will wear them all year long, even though they are Christmas-y...


MERRY CHRISTMAS!



Remember when it was summer...


Even though I was working full time over the summer, I still feel like I had a summer vacation.  Now that I've been student teaching for 3 whole weeks I am miss all the fun things I did like....

Going to Dodger games with Aaron and sitting in the left field pavilion aka "Mannywood"
With some of our tax returns we decided to get a mini game package for the Dodgers.  On game nights I would take the train out to LA and Aaron would pick me up at Union Station.  We successfully NEVER paid for parking!  After Friday night games there was always a firework show and we got to sit in the outfield to watch.

        


It is a Jones family tradition to go to the Orange County fair each summer, but because Aaron and I lived in Idaho for the first 2 years of our marriage, I have never been able to take part in that tradition..... Until this summer.  I think I gained a few pounds there.  Aaron and I shared a giant turkey leg, deep fried s'mores, and chocolate covered bacon.  YUM!  

 

My full time job all summer long was amazing.  I was a nanny for two kids.  Ariana who is 8 and Sebastien who is 6.  Every day we went somewhere.  My favorite outing was going to the beach.  The kids would play for hours and I got to lay out.  My mom and sisters and aunt would join me there so it was perfect.
   

I also took the kids to the park, bowling, the community pool.  We went to Chucky Cheese with some coupons and got over 300 tokens!  They got some pretty amazing prizes with all those tickets!  I really do miss that job.  The kids were amazing, and the parents always gave me money to spoil them!

           

  
Student teaching is lame and keeps me super busy, but I am looking forward to the day when I am a teacher and I get Summer off so I can play with and spoil my own kids.  (I guess I would have to have kids first though...)





Manipulation

Rachel put this on our desktop with terrible intentions.  I don't have too many ambitions for being a parent.  I just want my kids to be able to win in a fight by knocking someone out, be familiar with the rules of all the major sports, & have the skill of picking their burgers in public with no one noticing... and that's why Rachel's raising them.


Happy birthday to you!

27 years ago today....
  

... Aaron came into the world!

 

Isn't he such a cutie?  

I'm so happy you were born Aaron.  I love you so much!

Happy Birthday!




and here you are.

In 1990 Voyager 1 took this photo nearly four billion miles away from earth.  I can't help but look at it and have an overwhelming feeling of the insignificance of not only my problems, but myself.  

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds...    

-Carl Sagan

Faith is something that's incredibly personal, but at the same time incredibly confusing.  I have a hard time explaining it to people I trust, because it doesn't make any sense to much of myself.  In fact, it's almost embarrassing and ridiculous.  Half of me talks to my hands at night while I'm on my knees.  Half of me feels comfort and love from something far greater than empirical explanation.  There's a constant struggle between the admittedly sparse, yet indelible, spiritual moments which provided greater clarity to my life than anything else I've experienced and the grey matter in between in which I'm left to my senses to make it through this place.  I have a feeling navigating this unfortunate balance is what life is about. That, and finding the perfect pizza.

Jones family vacation

Aaron and I spent the first week of June In Corolla, North Carolina with Aaron's parents, sister, brother and their families.  

I made a slideshow to show off some of some of the highlights from our trip.  

We were also able to spend a day at Bush Gardens in Williamsburg, VA  

and a day in Colonial Williamsburg  

(which is where the Revolutionary war pretty much started.)

I had a good time and got a good tan!  I love family vacations!  

I wonder where we will go next year... 

4 years and counting


4 years ago today
Aaron and I were sealed in the Los Angles temple for time and all eternity.  Best day ever!




My wedding day was amazing, especially because I was able to spend all of it with my best friend.  



Our first photo shoot.  (when your mom is a photographer there are many photo shoots!)


Aaron proposed to me on new years eve, 2004 on lifeguard tower 27 in Newport Beach.  He is always surprising me with how romantic he can be. 

Engagement sitting in the box...


The first two years of our marriage we lived in Rexburg Idaho.  
Living so far away from our friends and family was a struggle for me, but I would do it all over again with Aaron.  We got so close over those first two years and learned how to depend on each other.

He is truly my best friend.  I love him more than I ever thought possible. 

I'm so glad I found you Aaron.  I'm looking forward to many more years with you.  

Happy Anniversary farty!!







The greatest thing you will ever see. Ever.

Swallow your food, put the kids down, stop driving.  I'm warning you.



http://playhimoffkeyboardcat.com/